Santa Monica’s Tar & Roses: Loud but Lovely

Tar & Roses is a worthy destination for dishes like pure-tasting, “utterly lovely” lamb belly, liu says. Other highlights: delicious chicken oysters on a skewer with mint dipping sauce, and memorably cloudlike gnocchi. According to liu, you can get out of there for $25 a person (sans beverage and dessert), which makes it a major bargain in the current LA scene.

Warning: Many hounds think the place is very loud—delicious, but very loud.